B.C. Premier Eby says Canada won’t work if Ottawa favours separatist premiers

VICTORIA – Canada cannot work if “separatist premiers” get all of the attention of the federal government, B.C. Premier David said Tuesday. 

Eby said that is the message he’ll relay to Prime Minister Mark Carney when they meet Wednesday after Carney met with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith last week to announce pipeline promises to the West Coast and a lower carbon tax for Alberta.

“The reality is that there is a very real and present threat of a referendum on separatism in Alberta, enabled by decisions made by the Albertan government,” Eby said, when asked how much of his comment about separatist premiers was aimed at Smith. 

“I believe that that is part of why we are seeing the federal government engage differently with Alberta than other premiers across the country.”

Eby made the statement at an unrelated news conference outside the legislature in Victoria as he prepares for his meeting with the prime minister in Vancouver. 

Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed an agreement last week that could start the construction of a new pipeline to B.C.’s coast as early as next year and announced lower carbon pricing for the province of $130 per tonne by 2040. 

Friday’s announcement by Carney and Smith did not include details about a route, and it is not clear yet whether the announced carbon price will also apply to other provinces. 

Eby said he doesn’t understand how Ottawa’s carbon agreement with Alberta is going to be implemented across Canada, because national policies need to be negotiated with all premiers, not just one.

“The prime minister needs to answer for why he made that decision,” Eby said. “It’s not one I agree with.”

Eby said projects being advanced in B.C. are pro-Canadian, yet they are being left out of the discussion.

“Bluntly, we cannot have bad behaviour decide who gets engaged with by the federal government,” Eby said. “We need to stand up for Canada, and we need to make sure we are supporting every province and territory with equal respect and that is what will provide a unified country.”

Eby used Tuesday’s news conference to tout various provincial projects in need of federal support. 

“We have $88 billion in projects, 34 different major projects, 40 per cent of projects in the major projects office — real projects with proponents and routes, and ready to go,” Eby said. 

British Columbia, he added, just needs to see the same level of support that Alberta has seen from Carney.

“We need to do it together, and we need to have at least as much enthusiasm from the federal government for B.C. projects, as they (have) shown for Alberta projects.”

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office said in an emailed statement late Tuesday that it will work with all provinces and territories on getting “big things” built to benefit British Columbians and all Canadians.

The statement said one-third of projects and “transformative strategies” referred to the Major Projects Office are in B.C.

Trevor Halford, interim leader for the Conservative Party of B.C., said Eby’s comments were meant to improve his poll numbers.

“At the end of the day, he should be learning to be more co-operative and less obstructionist,” Halford told reporters in the legislature. “Unfortunately, there’s a disconnect in the relationship between the prime minister and the premier of B.C., and obviously, the premier is going to try and weaponize that like he did today,” Halford said on Tuesday. 

In the legislature on Tuesday, the B.C. Conservatives accused Eby of opposing the proposed pipeline to the detriment of British Columbia.

Eby and others NDP members in turn said the Conservatives were standing up for Alberta, while opposing projects like LNG Canada Phase 2 in Terrace, B.C. 

One of Eby’s sharpest hecklers was Conservative Claire Rattee, who represents the Terrace-area riding. 

Speaker Raj Chouhan asked Rattee to leave the chamber, following two direct warnings.

Rattee later apologized to Chouhan for disrespecting his authority, but then raised a point of order, saying that Eby knowingly misled the public about her party’s record on LNG.

Chouhan said he would consider Rattee’s point of order, but did not say when he would issue a ruling.

Rattee later told reporters that she was kicked out of the chamber for being argumentative with the speaker. 

“For me personally, this is a hill I am willing to die on,” she said. “I am fine with being kicked out of the chamber, if it means that I’m speaking the truth. What the premier did today was essentially disparage our entire caucus and claim that we were not supportive of LNG Canada.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2026.